March 2, 2011
Board votes to keep
school name
by Terry Myers
It seems the community
will get its wish when it comes to the name of the “new” Kindergarten
to Grade 12 school set to open in Deep River next September.
The Renfrew County District School Board voted Monday night to name the
school the “Mackenzie Community School.”
The board's vote came too late for this week's edition of the North
Renfrew Times, but in a statement released to the paper earlier in the
day, the board said Mackenzie Community School would be the name going
forward as the recommendation of the special ad hoc committee set up to
submit a short list.
The board said Deep River staff, students and community members
submitted 572 surveys on the school name by the deadline of January 14.
Sixty-seven of the 123 suggested names contained a variation of the
name Mackenzie.
“It was very obvious from the input that retaining the 'Mackenzie' name
in the school title was important to many members of this community,”
said local Trustee Barbara Basso.
“Mackenzie Community School is a strong name for this facility, and one
that will pay homage to a visionary from the past,” said board chair
Dave Shields.
The board said that both the ad hoc committee and board trustees were
struck by the passionate and unified voice of the people who wished to
recognize the contribution that Dr. CJ Mackenzie made to the community
and the history of his name being associated with the town's high
school.
Also notable in the responses, the board said, was the acknowledgement
of the school as a “community hub.”
In addition to the nursery school and FEN Early Years Centre, local
sports and recreation groups use the school gyms, auditorium, and
classrooms.
The board quoted one respondent to the survey as saying that Mackenzie
is “much more than a school.”
“It is a community meeting place... open to all and available to all in
the communities of North Renfrew.”
Dr. CJ Mackenzie was president of the National Research Council and
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
After retiring from Chalk River, he served eight years as president of
the Atomic Energy Control Board.
|
